Is Your Smart Phone Making Your Life Small?

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Is Your Smart Phone Making Your Life Small?

Recently, I overheard my mother-in-law explaining to my 7-year-old niece that once upon a time all of our phones were connected to the wall by cords. This information just about straightened her adorable brown ringlets.

You may have veiled memories of that ancient time.

You may recall a time before you could check the weather, order a pizza, contact someone in Taiwan, and have 7 black tank tops shipped to your door by Thursday all within 47 seconds from the palm of your hand.

I still, and I’m about to date myself here, remember the first time I used my friends “car phone.” It plugged into the cigarette lighter of her Ford Taurus.

We ordered Chinese Food.

We were very cool.

How could any of us possibly imagine that a few years later, we would simply be lost without our Smartphones? They’ve become our maps, our news source, our recipes holders, our Bibles, our grocery lists, our go-to for design inspiration, our calendars, our notebooks and our way to remain in constant contact with our people.

Personally, I’m a massive fan. You will never hear me demonizing all the good that technology has brought into our lives.

I love that fact that I have a camera on me at all times

and can calculate the least traffic-y way to my destination. I love the fact that I can look up a mysterious ingredient on a food label, listen to audio books, (like this one read by Chip & JoAnna) refill a prescription and remind myself to call my Aunt all from a device that fits into my pocket.

READ: But mostly gets lost in my purse.

But you know what I don’t like?

How easily distracted I am.

But you are too right?

There you are minding your business when you think, “Hey I really want to know what the weather’s going to be like today.” And then suddenly, it’s 20 minutes later. You find yourself hunched over in some awkward position. BUT you are resurfacing to the rest of humanity with the new found knowledge of how to make your own kimchi, what you need to buy at the Nordstrom semi-annual sale, how much a 3 bedroom ranch goes for in the city of Des Moine and much more than you ever wanted to know about your new co-worker’s Himalayan guinea pig.

Smart phones can be a blessing, but because we’re a generation easily distracted by shiny objects, to use them properly requires the “D” word that none of us have a fondness for:

Discipline.

BUT GOOD NEWS: if you’re like us and HAVE found your world getting small and yourself getting sucked into the palm of your hand, take heart.

We’re not going to tell you to throw your Samsung out the window. We just want to offer a few hints to keep your smallest pieces of technology from making your life and your world small.

None of us will get this right all the time. As I was writing this post, Instagram Stories lured me in with it’s boomerang magic for WAY too long.

So take heart friend and let’s lay hold of a few ideas to make our technology work for us instead of we for it.

1. Have Boundaries:

This is going to look different for everyone. But it’s important for all of us. Do you have a time when you are not connected? Can you leave your phone in your pocket, purse, or another room when you’re at the dinner table or out with friends? Can you shut off your devices for a few hours at night or at least by a certain time in the evening?

What’s the most distracting thing for you? Maybe it’s the “ding” of notifications. Could you turn them off or at least only answer them in bulk? Maybe you remove email from your phone altogether and only answer emails while at your desk? Maybe you move your social media apps off of your home screen so you can get to them when you make time for them and not when they’re chirping, “You have 78 notifications.”

2. Stop Mindless Scrolling:

When you find yourself in the “mindless social media” scroll that we’re all guilty of, STEP AWAY FROM THE SMART PHONE.

Don’t miss your life while you’re busy admiring the lives of others.

I don’t want to get heavy or preachy so I’ll talk to myself here:

“Dear Megan, you may be missing some beautiful moments in your own life because you’re too mentally engaged in the lives of others. You may have completely missed opportunities to:

-see something beautiful

-recognize and add value to another person

-show your spouse that they’re your priority

due to your mindless scrolling.”

Ok, my toes hurt. ;P

3. Stop Comparing:

Repeat after me: The success of someone else does not make me a failure. We’re all on our own journey.And the quicker we can start celebrating each other without being threatened by each other, the better. Let’s determine to be inspired by others, but not intimidated.

Because here’s the Truth: Comparison is a thief & a liar.

It’ll do its best to rob you of the life you were designed to live.

It steals your joy.

It distracts you from the person you are by taunting you about the person you’re not.

Comments (9)

So, while reading this engaging blog I suddenly NEEDED to look up the definition of a word not in your blog. I was side tracked from there by a powdered sugar donut which I reasoned was a good way to break my sugar fast. I looked through the Kroger add and found 2# of blueberries for $3:99 and now I just have to make jam. I have been watching the clock do I won’t be late for my hair appointment. Suddenly I remember that I was reading your blog! Back to the blog I go. I get to the book you recommended and instantly went to amazon to check the price and realized that I could turn my iPhone into a kindle for FREE! So off to the App Store. Looks interesting, but, do I really want to read books on my phone? Well, if you get the app and never use it it’s no big deal I reasoned. Amozon is always offereing free books. Hmm, I wonder what kind of books are FREE? Oh, wait, I want to finish the BLOG!! Will think about the kindle app at the salon or the next time Megan recommends a book or….I think I understand the dog and a squirrel thing!!!! 💚

[…] during the week with no distractions? Will cell phone’s be in another room at meal times? (Check out last week’s post for lots of help with the Smartphones.)Will laptops be shut at a certain time? There’s no hard and fast rules here. Taylor make this to […]

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"Hi there, we’re Chris & Megan. Communicators, Creatives, Coffee Enthusiasts, and Passionate Non-campers. We’ve walked through some hard things in this life, things that tried to make our lives feel small. But, through a grace much bigger than us, we’ve come out the other side fueled by hope & all about celebrating the lives we have been given. We can’t wait to help your No Small Life do just the same.
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Chris and Megan have a passion to inspire people to never settle for a mediocre life but rather find and fulfill their purpose. If you want to stay connected to them check out some of their social media platforms. If you are interested in having Chris or Megan speak at your next event, or if you would like more information on any of their products or services you can send them an email....